male childcare workers - employment barriers?

My DD attended a centre that had a male CC worker. He was great and the kids loved him, my DP was a little funny about it but my DD loved it, males seem to have more energy and are more fun than female workers.
Only thing he couldnt do was change kids nappies (not sure why??? never asked)

hi guys my name is shane. i am trying to enter the childcare industry. Studying my certificate 3 by distance ed. have recieved distinctions for the first module. so totally wrapped but as of yesterday i was told to leave for no aparent reason except a complaint was filed against me. now i have never done anything wrong and i treat the kids as my own and love the time i do as work experience but with society today its very hard.
iam an older male not married was in plain clothes but possess my blue card student id and working towards for senior first aid.
now i know you were saying that males would be guareented a job but i dont see it if someone like me cant finish their certification without any predejucie.

what are your thoughts on this subject??:shakehead:

I am a director, we have a sister centre in another town. That centre has a male group leader - I know there was some stupid talk about him being gay - which was stopped. He is lovely and has a really great rapport with the kids.
I do think some people have crazy misconceptions and fears about men working with young children, even one of my staff members said something about it which I was shocked about.

Hi, I'm interested in a career in the childcare industry. I'm male. I'm 18 years old. I came across this forum when I googled "male childcare".

I've just applied for a traineeship job within walking distance of my home, and I worked really hard on getting my cover letter and resume just right. I really want this job; it would be THE second most perfect job I could ever get (the number one job I could get would be in the preschool that's a little less of a walk).

I want to have the best chance of doing this job. The advertisement said "demonstrated interest in childcare", and I've been volunteering at the local primary school for 6 weeks, as well as having enrolled in Certificate III in Children's Services (I can get an 80 percent refund - which I will have to do if I get the job - if I haven't handed in any assignments yet)

I want the best chance of getting this job. I have demonstrated ability in this field, but I don't know what to say in interview, or what to expect. Any pointers? Should I make light of the fact that I've done tons of research into males in the childcare industry? Should I try to regurgitate some of the things that the pro-male articles say about the benefits of having male role models in a childcare centre? I'm pretty lost. I need help.

I reeeally want this job; is there any advice to be given?

I would let them know you have researched it, it shows interest beyond just turning up for the interview.
My nieces have a man at their child care centre the kids love him.

Wishing you very much luck!

Thank you for your support.

I suppose I'm just paranoid about what I read; that only 2 percent of childcare workers are male. I figure this can mean a combination of two things: (a) the childcare industry doesn't get them, and (b) the childcare industry doesn't want them.

That's what I see in the various research articles. Obviously in this thread there's been overwhelming support FOR men in childcare positions, and in a way, I suppose it your (mums') opinions that matter. Do any of you know any mums who are paranoid about having men working with their kids?

FYI, this is a preschool, so I'd be working with very young children. 2-5, I think.

EDIT: Oh, and with regards to your first sentence, my resume indicates clearly that I'm interested in more than just turning up for the interview. I've done 6 weeks of volunteer work at a primary school, and I've applied to pursue childcare related education.

Sorry didn't mean that to sound rude!
I am a primary teacher and we see so few males coming into teaching, I have taught at schools with no men and its really sad for the kids as they need both men and women. Have you considered teaching ?

I personally wouldn't have a problem with a man at a preschool, obviously you have to be extra careful never to be alone with one child etc as we do in schools just for our own safety in case of accusations but TBH I think its great for young kids to have men in preschools. My son goes to Family daycare and I love that the carers son is often home (he is 22) and her husband is too, DS adores rough play with the son!

No, no, it didn't sound rude. I just realised I had forgot to mention the things I had put into my resume, so I did so in my edit. :)

I have considered becoming a teacher, but was ineligible for university at the end of year 12, so that will have to come further down the track.

In my volunteer work at the school, I became coldly aware of the paranoia of parents, so from now on I'm being very careful around the kids to make sure they don't like me too much. A wonderful little boy, who became very good friends with me, kept asking his mum if I could come over and play, and she wasn't very happy about a stranger meaning so much to her son, so now I have to take a break from my volunteer work and come back as a more austere figure of authority. It'll be painful, but I don't want a lawsuit. :P

Are there actually specific laws in place with specific regards to MEN working in child-related employment? Or is there just informal paranoia that forces people to treat males differently?

Just informal paranoia sadly. We have rules certainly but whereas my class (kindy) cuddle me and lean all over me it would prob be frowned upon if I was a man (double standards I am afraid)
Our after school care has heaps of young male employees, maybe try that if all else fails.

Don't give up on uni forever, a guy at school went to uni at 30 and is a great teacher cause he has some life experience as well.
Just out of interest what state are you in?

NSW. Western Sydney, actually. I really should fill out my profile, huh.

It's a shame about what you said about "frowned upon". I absolutely adore cuddles from the little kids, and so do they, but I can't do that anymore. I think it does the child more harm than good to deny them physical contact, but my opinions won't influence anyone. :(

The after school care I would be applying to (I've offered to volunteer there as well) has 2 carers for 12 kids, and I understand that the ratio is growing smaller, so there's a very small possibility of that happening some time in the future. I tried to apply for an OOSH position in a suburb a fair trainride away, but they said I was unsuitable because I lived too far away and didn't drive (I still don't). That's the closest I've come to getting involved in an OOSH.

I haven't given up on uni at all. I'm thinking of applying as soon as I'm eligible (mature age starts at 25, I think), and my sister is doing the exact same course in Canberra, so I'll have a great contact in the business before I get to actually applying for uni. It's the meantime I'm worried about.

Bummer the OOSH is so small, ours is quite big- they have at least 3 or 4 carers. Thats very unusual to have such a small OOSH although when I taught in Western Sydney my school didn't even have one (I left in 94 so a while ago LOL)

What about doing a teacher's aid course at TAFE? We are always desperate for teachers aids and can never find trained ones.

(What I meant by "ratio" was that I read an article that said that the ratios were being reduced by the government from 1:5 to 1:4, indicating that the OOSH would need 3 carers for its 12 children.)

Well, I've already paid 700 dollars to do "Certificate III in Children's Services", and if I don't get this job I've applied for, it would be silly for me to get my 80 percent refund and go and spend that money on a DIFFERENT course.

I mean, I'll look into it, but I can't see how "Teacher's Aide" differs from the volunteer work I'm doing at the moment. I'm aiding primary school teachers. I help with group activities, physical exercise, and individual reading programs for struggling children. What other things would a teacher's aide do? Keep in mind, I'm absolutely NOT interested in high school education whatsoever. :P

Do the cert 3 definitely, I only put teacher's aid as an another avenue to get into education.
Teachers aides are employed to work with special needs children in Primary school- my teachers aide works with an aspergers boy helping with reading and phonics and maths either individually or in a small group. They aide the child not the teacher if you know what I mean.

We have 2 males at my kids childcare and the girls love them. I think it is great to have males in the industry but unfortunately it doesn't seem to be an industry that is attractive to males. I think the view that it is underpaid and "women's work" so men don't consider it as a career option.

I think you have a good chance of getting work with all the volunteer work you have done and applying for your course - it shows a genuine interest in the field. If you decide to go on to uni as a mature age student and do teaching your work experience in childcare will certainly be an advantage for you. You may even look at kinder teaching if you really want to stay working with pre-schoolers.

Thanks for your support, guys.

I'll let you all know if I get the job.

I've worked in child care for quite a few years (currently studying my ECT degree) and I think there is a bias towards men. There are so few of them around they are pretty much snapped up and everyone rejoices & gloats if they have a male working in their centre. Kind of sucks as a woman sometimes :lol: But it really does add such an important balance to a centre and the children do thrive from some male adult contact.

On the negative side, you do need to be vigilant in protecting yourself from a child protection stand point. Child care workers are generally always peer-supervised and I have heard that its important for male child care workers to ensure they are in line of sight/supervision from a coworker especially when assisting children with toileting and nappy changing. Its really sad that that is the case but its the only negative in a world of positives for men in the profession.

All the best!!!

Thank you for your encouraging post, meow.

I'm glad to hear that men are "snapped up" and "gloated about". I'm a tad skeptical about the extent to which that's true, as I've been to one interview for a CC traineeship about a month and a half ago, and I think I interviewed very well (but at that point I had only been volunteering at the primary school for 2 weeks), but I didn't get the job. I suppose there just must've been someone better, but your post makes it sound like they'll hire any male who walks in the door and doesn't reek of pedophile. :lol:

Anyway, thanks again for the encouraging words. I suppose we'll see exactly how true they are in due time. Is there anything I should know when I go to interview? I know the basic body language and behaviour etc. that you should have for all job interviews, but I'm wondering if there's any extra advice relating to childcare.

For example, should I wear a suit? I don't have one, and it seems like the kind of job where it wouldn't really matter.

Also, what should I say if they ask about changing nappies? I thought about it a lot and I came up with something like "Obviously it wouldn't be my first choice of job, but someone's gotta do it, and I'm prepared to learn". How does that sound?

What else should I know?

Agreed with everyone in this thread. We just got a male director and I think it's going to be excellent for everyone.

RE: changing nappies. When people say its the worst part of the job, or apologise when I am changing their child's nappy, my response is always that it's worse to leave a child in a dirty nappy and NOT change nappies than to change them ;)